How to Cook Frozen Salmon in the Air Fryer
Although from testing we can say the cooking times will vary a little depending on the size of your salmon pieces, here is the basic method and our best tips:
- For easier cleanup, spray the air fryer basket with oil or line it with parchment paper like we do.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit – even if your air fryer doesn’t preheat.
- Place the frozen salmon (skin side up so it finishes skin side down later) to cook for 10 minutes.
- While the salmon is cooking, mix up the deliciously simple glaze. No need to spend extra time prepping in advance, just do it while the salmon is cooking.
- Flip the salmon after 10 minutes and cook for another 8-12 minutes.
- Brush the glaze over the salmon during the last few minutes of cooking. We found in testing this recipe that the sauce will burn if you brush it on sooner.
Looking for more? Check out all of our easy air fryer recipes!
What our readers are saying
Excellent recipe!! Everyone loved it, tripled the recipe still no leftovers!
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What to Serve with Air Fried Salmon
If you have both an oven and an air fryer, serving up some roasted veggies alongside your salmon is a great way to go. Plus, you can cook them in about the same amount of time. Our Asian-inspired cucumber salad is a great no cook side, too.
Also – if you like this recipe, you should definitely check out our buffalo air fryer frozen chicken wings.
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to leave a quick star rating and review below, we read every comment and truly appreciate your feedback. Also, be sure to browse the rest of our delicious and easy air fryer recipes to find some other favorites too!
Easy Air Fryer Frozen Salmon (No Thaw!)
Ingredients
- 2 frozen salmon fillets, (6 oz)
- Diced chives, (optional topping)
For the easy glaze:
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried ginger
Equipment
Instructions
- For easy cleanup, spray the air fryer basket with oil or line it with parchment paper.
- Preheat air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Even if it doesn't have a preheat function, preheat it for a few minutes.
- Place the frozen salmon (skin side up) to cook for 10 minutes.
- While the salmon is cooking, make the glaze by adding all of the sauce ingredients to a bowl and mixing well.
- Flip the salmon after 10 minutes and cook for another 8-12 minutes. See recipe notes.
- In the last 3-5 minutes of cooking. Quickly pull the salmon out and brush it with the glaze on the top side. Return salmon to the air fryer to cook until finished.
- Remove and serve.
Notes
- How long you need to cook the salmon after flipping will depend on the thickness of the fillets. You’ll need less cooking time for thin fillets and thick fillets will need to cook longer to fully cook in the center. Cook the salmon until it is easily flaking in the thickest part or measures 145° Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer.
- Since salmon fillets are never an even thickness throughout, the outer edges will be done before the center when you’re cooking it from frozen. Be sure to cook your salmon until it is fully cooked in the thickest section. Note that this will result in slightly uneven cooking with the outer edges more done than the thick inner pieces. This is the price you pay for the convenience of cooking salmon from frozen in the air fryer.
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Nutrition facts are per serving and an estimate provided for those following a Ketogenic or low-carb diet. See our full nutrition information disclosure here.
Delicious! The salmon was moist and the glaze was mild tasting.
Loved this recipe the first time and making again.
Delicious and super easy!
I loved the ease in putting this dish together and tasty.
Cool, thanks, but I do have a question – not really interested in making homemade coconut aminos, nor do I want to buy them bc of the high sugar content (and not seeing myself using it enough). Any recommendations for a substitute for the glaze? I don’t mind using soy sauce, but I assume it wouldn’t have the slight sweetness from the coconut aminos (I’m ok with a little bit of sweet). Maybe a little soy sauce (or tamari) and teeny tiny dash of maple syrup? I mainly am concerned about losing the umami flavor with substitutes. Thx in advance!
I think soy sauce with a dash of maple syrup would work great.
Made this using fresh salmon from the grocery store. The glaze taste amazing. I kept some on the side to sprinkle on top after cooking. It’s even better. I did have to add additional salt onto the cooked salmon afterward.
Glad you liked this recipe Kristie, thanks for coming back to leave a review!
Excellent recipe!! Everyone loved it, tripled the recipe still no leftovers!
Love that! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try and for coming back to share how it went! 🙂
Freezer to table in 30 minutes. Love it!
I wasn’t expecting it to be so good, but it was.
It’s such an easy last-minute meal! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for coming back to leave a review and rating 🙂